One of the central things we are called to remember in this Supper is the fact that God has brought us to one another, and not just to Himself. Now He has brought us into fellowship with Him, and we rejoice in it, but He never does this in isolation. “The Lord gave the word: Great was the company of those that published it” (Ps. 68:11).
One of our responsibilities in the Supper thereof, is to see one another, to look at one another. This is a participation together.
Try to avoid looking just to the front of the church, as though all the action were down here, or on this Table. No, your love for one another is a great part of what we are enacting. So look around—this is not a lecture hall, or a concert. This is a great company, and we are called to love one another. We are called to be aware of our presence together. Feel free to speak to one another as we commune.
Look around, and pray for those with cancer. Look around, and pray for those who struggle with financial hardship. Look around, and ask God to fill your heart with love for those you believe have wronged you, or who have slighted you, or who do not appear to be aware you exist. Love them in your glance. Looking around in this way is not “being distracted.” It is true fellowship.
Now it is true that there is a kind of looking around that is not love, but rather just gawking. If you are checking out the girls, you need to be more spiritually minded. If you are wondering if she noticed that you got new shoes, then your heart is not where it ought to be. Feel free to look back to the front again for a moment. But do that to calibrate your heart with this mystery—which is not the same thing as parking your heart here.
So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.